Life is Never Easy
by Lord of Tuft
Summary: Part 3/3 of my "Life" series. Aelita is confused about her feelings but with the arrival of Kadic's annual ball she hopes to solve this problem. But life is never as easy as that; Odd ends up asking her out but this only ends up causing problems with Jeremie and their friendship gets strained. Read the first two parts before reading this one if you haven't already. OddLita.


**Part ****three of three of my OddLita series. It's been quite a good while, but I wanted to make this good, and school has kept me busy as usual (I think it's a conspiracy to make sure us students doesn't have any free time what-so-ever) and when summer began I didn't want to do anything. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy this, and that you'll be kind enough to let me know what you think (constructive criticism is always welcome!) And again, I don't have anything against JerLita, I just never got into them, so don't read if you don't like OddLita. Enjoy :)**

* * *

I yelped as a red laser flew past me. Seeing as I was Yumi's passenger, there wasn't much I could do other than launching an occasional energy field at monsters when the opportunity arrived. Not the easiest job at the speed we were going though, and there were a lot of monsters.

"You still holding on, Aelita?" Yumi shouted over her shoulder. I locked my eyes front again. _The tower is still too far away._

"Yes," I said, "but we've still got a ways to go."

"Don't worry," she replied with a slight smirk, "I'll get us there."

Not even two seconds after she said that, the Overwing took a hit. With a scream we crashed into the ground and rolled a few meters before finally sliding to a halt. Yumi got back on her feet with a moan, and just barely managed to raise one of her fans to block a laser shot directed at her. Unfortunately she wasn't quick enough to block the second shot, and so she slowly disintegrated with another moan. Two Kankrelats were now making their way towards me, but I defiantly lifted my arm.

"Energy field!"

Right on target! One of the two Kankrelats disappeared in an explosion of raw data, but his friend took the chance to fire a shot at me. Hitting me square in the chest, I fell back to the ground with a moan.

"Aelita!" I heard Jeremie shout from overhead. The Kankrelat charged its laser to finish me off and I closed my eyes waiting for the final shot. The next noise I heard though, was the sound of the Kankrelat blowing up. I opened my eyes to see none other than Ulrich standing in front of me -who last I saw was far behind me and Yumi.

"Don't worry, Einstein," Ulrich said in that cool, nonchalant voice of his, "Aelita's okay."

"Thank you, Ulrich," I said when I got back onto my feet. Ulrich just waved it off.

"All part of the job. I would offer you a ride, but it was destroyed a little ways back there," he said apologetically. "Guess they're not too keen on bikers in this part of town." Before I could answer, another laser flew past us. Looking ahead of us, we saw five Kankrelats and a Blok moving forward. Ulrich griped his katana harder, and I called out to Jeremie.

"Jeremie, I'll need another ride!"

"Overboard coming right up," he replied while typing on his keyboard. A few seconds later, the Overboard appeared next to me. I smirked and mounted it.

"You head on to the tower, Aelita. I'll deal with those." I nodded and accelerated the Overboard.

down below I could hear the sounds of combat, but I kept my eyes on the goal. A few of the monsters began shooting at me, but I skillfully dodged them by slipping in between the numerous trees of the forest sector like Odd and I had done so many times before.

And before long, I'd reached the tower.

* * *

Me, Jeremie, Yumi and Ulrich were walking back towards the school, laughing and joking as we went. Odd wasn't with us because he was still in detention for skipping school with me. I'd gotten detention too, though not as long as Odd. This was mainly due to Odd's `awesome negotiation skills´, as he called them. I still felt bad for Odd taking the fall, but he kept saying that he would have gotten a longer detention if it hadn't been for his charm and way with words. None of us saw him much except for in class anymore. This was because Odd's a well known trouble maker, and the principle wanted to teach him `a proper lesson´ this time by not allowing him to go anywhere besides his and Ulrich's room after school was over.

Why do I get the feeling that it he won't take this lesson to heart?

"And you should've seen Aelita," Ulrich laughed, "none of the monsters managed to hit her once she got on the Overboard. It was awesome." I smiled at the praise.

"Well, of course. It's going to take more than a few monsters to take me down." The others laughed in agreement.

I slipped back into my thoughts. I remembered all the flips and tricks I did to dodge the monsters. Odd had been very diligent in regards to teaching me how to ride the Overboard, and it had certainly come in handy today. It brought a faint smile to my lips. Surprisingly enough, Odd's actually a very good teacher and he knows a lot of things granted something interests him. This is what I've learned about him over the time I've known him; there is so much more to him than what meets the eye.

I remember one time when I had to get some materials from the art room, and I found Odd there painting. I'd seen him doodle a lot and occasionally drawing, but I didn't know that he painted.

But what surprised me the most was the fact that he was humming quietly to himself, occasionally tossing in a few words here and there.

I'd never seen him that concentrated on anything before either. It was like he was in his own little world where nothing else mattered but himself and the painting. He didn't even notice me when I walked up behind him. When I did make my presence known to him, he made a small whelp of surprise, which was kind of cute because I had no idea he could make such a noise. He began scowling at me when I laughed at him, but he soon turned back to the painting with a slight blush, probably due to the fact that I caught him humming like that, which was kind of out of character for him.

The painting was a beautiful night-time scenery of a lake with a forest in the background and a lone fisherman in the middle of the lake. When I commented him on the painting, he shushed me off and said that one should never comment on unfinished work. I quickly stuttered out an apology, but he quickly changed his mood and laughed it off like he always does.

Even though there was something I was supposed to do there, I ended up forgetting about it and stayed there silently watching him paint. It was really pleasant even though no words were exchanged between us. And I don't think he minded it very much either.

He did stop humming though.

The memory brought a smile to my lips.

Odd...

I've been thinking about him more recently. More than usual I mean; and not like I used to think about him. Over the past few weeks I'd seen a side of him that, I think, few if not anyone has ever really seen before: the kind and gentle side to our weird, loud oddball.

"So, Odd's getting out of detention tomorrow," Yumi said with a strange smile in my direction.

"Yeah," I said, my smile growing a little bit at the thought, "he is."

"Finally," added Ulrich, "seriously, I have no idea what got you two to do such a brazen thing," he said with slight amusement.

I noticed Jeremie looking at me with a strange look in his eyes. Annoyance? Jealousy?

Sadness?

When our eyes met though, he just smiled weakly and looked away. He'd more than likely noticed the change between Odd and me; after all, we had skipped school together for an entire day. It pained me to know that our relationship was so strained now; it was, after all, special. Nobody can argue with me on that account. I know full well Jeremie's feelings towards me, but he is so terrible at expressing them. It honestly annoys me a little. I hate to admit it, but we are a little bit like Ulrich and Yumi on that account.

Jeremie was the first person I ever really met. He was so kind to me and helped me escape my digital prison. He saved me. I admire Jeremie; I feel immense gratitude towards Jeremie. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like Jeremie, because I like him, I really do; but love? I've only been here for what? Two months now? I honestly don't know what the term `love´ really means yet. Could `love´ really be what I was feeling towards Jeremie? Or maybe Odd? Just as with Jeremie, me and Odd's relationship has always been special, but he's like that with most people. Especially with other girls. I honestly don't know what I'm feeling towards him exactly. Maybe I'm crushing on him like a hundred -I know I'm not exaggerating here- other girls before me. Maybe I'm actually falling for him because he's always there when Jeremie wasn't

But what about Odd himself? Is he just playing me like all the other girls. Am I just another challenge he wishes to conquer? No, Odd wouldn't be as heartless as to do something like that to one of his friends. But does that mean that really cares for me? He has helped me immensely, not only on Lyoko but also here in the real world. I have never been able to act the way I do other than with Odd; I can't let myself go like that with anyone but Odd. Not even with Jeremie.

Jeremie dedicated himself and fought for me. He gave me life. But Odd taught me how to enjoy it and truly live.

I let a silent sigh escape my lips.

_Why can't things ever be easy?_

* * *

"Ah, sweet freedom at last," Odd beamed, walking out of the school building with arms spread wide. "I thought they'd never let me leave that place. It was terrible I tell you, terrible!" He looked into the air with mock fright. "This kind of thing should be illegal," he added almost as an afterthought.

"You've only got yourself to blame for it," Ulrich chuckled, "and even you aren't stupid enough to not know you'd get punished for it." Odd simply waved it off with a smirk.

"Details, details. Anyways it was worth it." Odd went quiet for a few moments before he suddenly realized something. "Wait, did you just call me stupid?"

"I think you just proved my point, good buddy," Ulrich laughed. Odd looked annoyed for one second before he too began laughing. It didn't take long before we were all laughing.

_Everything is back to normal now_, I thought with a smile.

We walked past the gym where quite a few students were hard at work. They were making everything ready for the annual prom, and everybody was seemingly excited. Me too for that matter; it was, after all, my first ever prom.

"So, Odd," Yumi said, "have you got a date for the prom yet?" We all stopped a little ways from the gym. Odd's eyes flickered towards me for a split second, or at least I think they did. Maybe not.

"No," Odd said after a second or two, "no not yet." He suddenly donned a mischievous look, and turned to Ulrich. "How about you, buddy? Got a date yet?"

"Well..." Both Ulrich and Yumi blushed, and looked carefully at each other. "Yeah, I guess I have."

"Ooh," Odd giggled, "you finally admitted your love, did you?"

"We're just..."

"Good friends, yes, what else is new," Odd giggled. "How about you, Jeremie?" Odd added after a few moments. All eyes drifted towards the genius. "You going to the prom?"

I was really hoping that he would say yes. It would be nice to actually spend time with him outside class and Lyoko, something we'd only done once before. Maybe that would help me resolve my conflicted feelings?

"No," Jeremie sighed, "I need to update a lot of the programs to expand on the security algorithms and improve the super scanner."

My heart dropped a little, though I wasn't very surprised. However, after that look he'd given me yesterday I was kind of hoping he'd come. "Can't that wait until tomorrow?" I asked tentatively. "One small break won't do you any harm." He shook his head, and answered with a little more authority:

"No, this is too important to do later; and we need to be alert if XANA attacks again. You all remember what happened last year, right?" The others shuddered and made a disapproving sound. I wasn't here last year (obviously) but they did tell me once what had happened and if I remember correctly, there was something about a giant teddy bear...

Jeremie looked over to me with a slightly hopeful look in his eyes. "I could really need some help, Aelita. If the two of us work on it we'd get done much quicker."

I sighed. There's never any use to even try talking some common sense into him when he'd decided for something. "I'm sorry, Jeremie," I said, "but I really want to go to the prom."

That little look he had in his eyes earlier disappeared. "Oh. I understand."

You understand? Do you?

I looked away as a really awkward silence fell over the group.

"I once made a rat's head catch fire by singing to it," Odd said, suddenly out of the blue. Everybody looked at him with confused looks.

"What?" we all exclaimed almost at once. Odd looked back at us with an equally confused face.

"What?" he replied as if nothing had happened.

"You just said..." Ulrich began.

"I didn't say anything," Odd said quickly.

"But..." Ulrich ultimately just gave up with a laugh. "Go to hell, Odd."

"Hmm, that's in Norway isn't it?" Odd replied questioningly. Everybody just looked at him, and he cracked a huge grin and laughed merrily.

And just like that the awkward atmosphere was completely forgotten.

(AN: Hell is indeed a place in Norway (though it means luck in Norwegian). I once made a joke about it when one of my English teachers (who was also my geography teacher) asked me where I'd been in the summer vacation. I've never seen a teacher laugh harder than when I said that I'd been in Hell.)

* * *

I shuffled slowly across the hall, heading towards Jeremie's room. it was a Friday, but the teachers were all making preparations for the prom so we hadn't had any classes today. But even so we still hadn't exchanged a word since we parted yesterday. I needed to talk to Jeremie about the prom. I knew he'd said that he wouldn't go, but I wanted to try to talk him into coming on more time. Not just for my sake, but for his as well.

I stood in front of his dorm room door for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. I knocked three times and waited. When I didn't hear anything I tried knocking one more time, and this time I heard him say "come in."

I walked in, and when he turned around from his computer to see who it was he smiled. "Oh, Aelita," he said, "what are you doing here?"

I smiled back at him. "Hello, Jeremie." I sat down on his bed before continuing. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" he lifted an eyebrow. "About what?"

I took another deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ "I wanted to see if I couldn't talk you into coming to the prom tomorrow." Jeremie sighed deeply.

"Aelita, you know very well that I can't do that," he said sadly. "There's so much work that needs to be taken care of, I don't have time to go."

"But that's just it," I reasoned, "you never have time for anything. You need a break, Jeremie. You're not a machine. We're fourteen, Jeremie; most kids our age are out enjoying themselves."

"Yeah, but we're not like `most kids´," said Jeremie, his voice rising slightly in volume, " `most kids´ doesn't have to fight a dangerous virus that tries to destroy all of humanity!"

"Please, Jeremie," I said gently, "it's just one evening. I just want you to come with me to the prom." He seemed to calm down a little after that.

Boy, was I wrong.

"Really?" he muttered sarcastically, "you don't want to go with Odd?"

My eyes widened and my breath hitched. Was he really going to attack me with that? "Why do you say that?" I said, hurt evident in my tone.

"I'm not an idiot, Aelita. Everybody can see how friendly you and Odd's become."

"He's my friend, Jeremie," I said, my voice rising. "And he's helped me more than anybody ever since I came here!" I could feel a lump starting to form in my throat. "He understands me."

"Come on, Aelita. It's Odd; he's just playing you like he's done every other girl in school. Besides, he's supposed to be your cousin, or have you forgotten about that?"

"Then why won't you come to the prom?"

"I told you, I can't afford it! What if XANA attacks like he did last time? What would we do then?" Jeremie looked sternly at me. "Life is not the fairytale that you and Odd seems to live in. It's time for you to grow up Aelita; I thought you were smarter than this."

"No, Jeremie, you grow up!" I nearly shrieked, not really caring if anybody heard me. Tears were slowly starting to roll from my eyes as I continued, "I just wanted to get you to come to the prom so you could unwind and spend some time with us -with me. But instead you start attacking me about my relationship with Odd." I took a breath trying to steady my quavering voice. "I know full well that life isn't a fairytale, I know that better than most; but I won't let that stop me from enjoying these little happy moments because there's too damn few of them!"

Jeremie's features softened up a bit. "Aelita-"

"No! Just-" I took another breath and angrily wiped away those few tears that had appeared before finishing in a whisper, "screw you, Jeremie..."

Jeremie stood with wide eyes, not saying a word. I was a bit surprised myself because I'd never really cursed before. I'd never really gotten angry at anyone before...

I turned around and quickly walked out the door. Walking down the corridor, a few more tears ran down my cheeks but once again I angrily wiped them away. I could barely hear Jeremie curse from inside his room and a few people were looking out of their dorms to see what all the ruckus was about. But I had left before anyone really took any notice of me.

* * *

I was leaning against a tree inside the forest next to the school. I had stopped crying and I was more angry now than sad. A fight between me and Jeremie wasn't anything new; in fact, we'd fought a couple of times even before I came to earth, but it had never been anything like this. The funny thing was that it would always be the same thing that happened: Jeremie would do or say something stupid and then we would start to argue. Jeremie would then realize his stupid mistake and apologize to me, I would forgive him and things would go back to normal between us. And even though I was so angry with him right now, I had no doubt the same thing would happen now.

We really are idiots...

"So this is where you've been hiding," I heard a voice say behind me. I looked back to see Odd walking towards me from the forest. "When I didn't find you over at the Hermitage I started to worry, but it would seem you've been sitting here all along."

"Hey, Odd," I said with a small smile.

"I'm afraid this is turning into a habit," he said while sitting down next to me, "me finding you like this."

I let out a small chuckle, "yeah, let's hope it doesn't." I was quiet for a few seconds before adding, "but it's kinda nice..." If he heard me, then he didn't show it.

"I, ah... I got a little bit worried after you and Jeremie, ah... well... you know," he said awkwardly while scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm fine, Odd," I assured him. "We've argued before, you don't have to worry about me so much."

"I can't help it," he exclaimed, "you're our pampered little princess after all."

I bumped into him with my shoulder, "shut up."

Odd rubbed his shoulder and gave me another one of those strange, solemn smiles of his. "So you really are okay, then?"

"I'm fine, Odd," I said again, "I'm just a bit angry."

"Yeah, Jeremie can be a bit of a..."

"Jerk?" I offered.

"That's one word for it, I suppose," he agreed. "The thing about Jeremie is that he worries about us -about you. He can't fight like the rest of us do, so he has to do everything he can to help us; but that good thing about him can sometimes make a bit of a... well, as you so amazingly put it: a jerk."

"I know," I sighed, "I don't blame him for that, and I do understand. I just wish that he'd take a break sometimes and just have fun and relax like kids our age our supposed to do." I pulled up my feet and hugged my knees. "I just want to forget about the mess that is our lives once in a while, if only for an hour."

We sat in silence for a few moments, but then I felt Odd's arm sneak up around me and take a hold on my opposite shoulder. I looked over at him in surprise, but he had his eyes closed. After gathering myself again, I smiled and leaned slightly into him. I closed my eyes and let out a content sigh. It was in this position that we sat in silence for quite a long time. It was just so comfortable to sit like this, and it made the last bits of my previous annoyance melt away. It was in this moment that I understood that my feelings for Odd went further than mere friendship, that I was in fact falling for him; and I had a feeling that it was the same for him as well. Why else would he do all these things?

I didn't really care about all that at the moment, though. It was just so nice to sit there like that, feeling his warm body next to me. When I first came to earth and started to spend time with Odd, I would always blush and wonder naïvely what this feeling was, but not anymore.

God help me, I had fallen for Odd Della Robbia.

"Um, Aelita?" Odd said breaking the silence, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Hm?" However faint, I could see a small blush adorning his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something only to close it again, shaking his head. "What is it, Odd?" I questioned.

"No, it was nothing. Forget I said anything."

"Come on, Odd, tell me," I said trying to sound a little pleading.

Odd looked a bit uncomfortable but he gave in. "Well, I just thought that if you didn't have anyone to go with to the prom tomorrow, then you could... go with me... if you like."

I didn't need much time to think of a reply to his question, but I decided to have a little fun with him first. "I don't know," I said with a snobby tone, "I'm not so sure if you're worthy enough to accompany me."

"Oh, really? Weren't you the one who called me a gallant knight back at the playground?"

I blushed a little bit at the memory and shrugged. "I'm just joking Odd," I said merrily before finishing a bit more softly, "I'd love to go with you." We just smiled at each other for a moment, but then I remembered something Jeremie had said. "But we're supposed to be cousins," I said quietly, "I don't think it would be a very good idea for us to go together."

"We'll just say we're not related," Odd chirped.

"What?"

"If anybody actually remembers, or even knew in the first place, that we are `cousins´, we'll just say that our parents were best friends and we grew up together like `cousins´," he said with a smile. I looked at Odd with eyes a little wider than usual. I got the feeling that he'd been thinking about this quite a lot because no matter how clever Odd is when it comes to certain things, I don't think that he would be able to come up with that from the top of his head.

"Okay," I said softly, "it's a date."

"It's a date," he agreed with a warm smile.

I leaned back towards him and we were once again engulfed in the quietness of the woods.

"Hey, Odd," I said

"Hm?"

"Hum for me," I said with a smirk.

He pushed me away, blushing furiously. "Shut up," he laughed, and I laughed with him.

We agreed that he would come pick me up at my dorm at seven, and then we parted. I didn't see Jeremie again that day, which was a bit of a shame because I felt a little bit bad for yelling at him. But on a second thought, maybe it was just as good seeing as I had now actually decided to go out with Odd as he had suspected. Meeting up with him would probably just worsen things between us. I would have to face him about the subject eventually; the fact that I were going to the prom with Odd wasn't going to be a secret for very long.

I never thought that I would be having so much trouble because of boys...

I decided not to think about it anymore, and just get some rest since it was getting a bit late. When I came back to my room though, I realized that I didn't really own any `party clothes´. I just had my every-day clothes -which isn't the best clothing to wear at the prom. I was luckily saved by Yumi on that account when she told me the next day that she, too needed some new clothes. and so we went out to get some shopping done. We spent most of the day finding the right clothes to buy, and when we finally had finished we went over to her place to get ready for the prom. We were standing in her room, fully dressed, going over the finishing touches. I was wearing a simple sleeveless pinkish-white dress with a pink rose on my left shoulder strap. The hem of the dress ended just above my knees -about the same height as my everyday dresses- and on my feet was a pair of snow-white reasonably high-heeled shoes.

Yumi had a short, black frilly skirt with black thigh-high socks and a black sweater that hang off her right shoulder. She'd originally wanted to get me a similar outfit, but I had promptly refused because it would have been way too embarrassing for me to wear. Especially with such a short skirt.

We had a bit of make-up on, but not too much, and we had fixed our hair so it looked a bit wilder than usual. Looking in the mirror I could honestly say that we looked good. Besides I had really been enjoying myself, so I was smiling and laughing all the while.

"So," Yumi began while smoothening out her socks, "who are you going with?" She tossed a look over at me, and I was struck by a bit of uncertainty.

"Well, um..." I began. Well, it would be no use hiding it from her; might as well get it out immediately. "I'm going out with Odd," I said, trying to make it sound as casual as possible.

"I knew it!" Yumi exclaimed, "you like him." She smirked knowingly at me.

"Well," I began, unsure of what to say. I ultimately sighed, "yes, I suppose I do."

"I knew it, I knew it. You two have been acting strangely around each other most of the time for a long time now." She then looked over at me with a more serious expression. "But what about Jeremie?"

I knew it. It always comes back to me Jeremie doesn't it? "Well, it's not like we were in a relationship to begin with," I began. "Sure I like him, but I don't know if I like him like him. We have so much in common and so people just assumes that we'd end up together, but the fact is that we're also really different, and it's not like I owe him anything or..." I would have continued to ramble on like that if Yumi hadn't stopped me.

"Relax, Aelita. You don't have to prove anything to me."

"I know," I sighed. "I guess I'm just trying to prove to myself that what I'm doing isn't wrong. I mean, It's always been me and Jeremie, so now I'm feeling a bit guilty because..." I drifted off and looked down towards the ground. I then felt a pair of arms encircle me in a hug.

"Don't be. You can't make any `right´ or `wrong´ decisions in this matter, and know that I'll stand by you all the way no matter what you do."

I smiled and returned her embrace. "Thank you, Yumi. It really means a lot for me to hear you say that."

Yumi broke the embrace and smiled mischievously at me. "And if Odd ends up braking your heart I'll personally punch his teeth in."

I giggled and smiled warmly at her, my spirit renewed, but then remembered something. I looked up at the clock hanging on her wall; it read six thirty. "I've got to go," I said, "Odd's supposed to pick me up at my room in half an hour."

"I'll see you back at school, Ulrich's supposed to come pick me up here."

With that we parted ways, and I headed back to my dorm room.

I didn't have to wait for very long before I heard a knocking on my door. I smiled to myself and opened the door. I was met by Odd's grinning face and a short "hello". I took a few seconds to look him over. He was wearing jeans, a purple shirt and an unbuttoned dress jacket; but what really caught my attention was the fact that his hair was down.

He was looking really good.

"Wow," he said after having looked me over, "you look... beautiful, Princess."

"Thanks, you don't look too shabby yourself," I said in an attempt to hide my blush.

"What? I look fabulous!" he said with a scoff. He extended his arm with a soft smile. "Well then, shall we?"

"Gladly," I said taking hold of his arm. We began walking down the hallway in silence, and I was honestly quite content at that moment.

"I mean it," he suddenly said quietly, "you really do look beautiful."

I didn't look at him, I just held his arm a little tighter. "Thanks, Odd."

It was still a bit early, but people were already arriving at the gym. There was some music playing but not much. They were probably waiting to turn the volume up until more people arrived. I took a look around. Yumi and Ulrich hadn't arrived yet... and no Jeremie**. **_Probably just as good_, I thought while looking over at my date, _considering the circumstances_.

"Wanna get something to eat before it gets full?"

"You just want to eat everything before anybody else gets the chance don't you," I smiled.

"You know it," he said and led me over to the food. Odd had obviously been joking about the food seeing as he only settled for a single piece of cake. I only had some punch since I wasn't really all that hungry. Sipping my punch, I watched him closely. I had to admit that he looked very good with his hair down; it gave him a sort of natural beauty... I brought the cup a little closer to my face in an attempt to hide my flush.

"See something you like?" I noticed then that he'd been looking at me too, and he was wearing a sly smile.

"Well... uh... it's just that..." I stammered, "I've never seen you with your hair down before, and, uh... it looks nice," I finished quietly. Oh, that was embarrassing. He made a small laugh.

"Yeah, this is how I used to have it before I went to Lyoko the first time. I'd forgotten how much easier it is to have it like this..."

"Well, I like it," I said with a smile. I unconsciously brought up my hand and grabbed a strand of hair between my fingers.

_Soft._

"Uh, Aelita? What are you doing?" I realized then what I was doing, and my arm shot back immediately in massive embarrassment.

"Sorry!" I said quickly and turned around so I didn't have to look at him. What was going on with me? I was acting like an idiot here. I felt a hand on my shoulder and then Odd pointed towards the entrance. Yumi and Ulrich had just arrived.

"Wanna join them?" I nodded wordlessly, not really trusting myself to say anything, and so we walked over to our two friends.

after a few minutes the place had started to fill up with people, and the music started blaring. Odd dragged me out onto the dance floor, quickly followed by Ulrich and Yumi, and began dancing to the cool beat. Well, not as much dancing as jumping around. It was a bit amusing seeing the normally cool Ulrich jump around with his hands in the air. Not that I should talk seeing as I, too, was jumping around with Odd, laughing breathlessly. I had never experienced anything like this before; everybody around us was just dancing and enjoying themselves. It was amazing, and I was enjoying every part of it.

Odd came a bit closer, and leant over so that he could talk over the loud music: "Enjoying yourself?"

"Definitely!" I shouted back happily.

We continued to dance for a while longer before having to take a break. We sat down at a table, and Odd looked over at me and laughed breathlessly. Shortly after, the music changed and the DJ was playing some slow music. Odd stood up and held out his hand. I looked at it for a second and then up at him.

"May I have this dance, Princess?"

"Certainly, Ser," I replied with a small giggle.

We walked out on the dance floor where other couples had already begun dancing. I noticed how close they were all dancing and looked over at Odd with a blush. "Um, I don't really know how to dance," I said after realization hit me. Jumping wildly around with my hands in the air is one thing but actually dancing is something else entirely.

"Good, me neither. Why don't we be terrible at it together?" I stifled a giggle and nodded. "Seriously, it's easy," he said as he put his hands around my waist, "just follow my lead." I felt a slight jolt go through me when he put his hands around my waist, but quickly got over it and put my own arms around his neck as I had seen the other girls do. I did as Odd told me and followed his movements and so we began swaying around in slow circles to the soft music. I know it's a cliché, but I felt as though the world stopped right then and there and that there was no one else but me and Odd. It was bliss. I moved a bit closer to Odd, pressing my body a little bit closer to him and laid my head on his shoulder with a quiet sigh. His body tensed slightly, but eased back again after a second or two.

This was nice. This was really nice. I don't think I'd ever experienced something as wonderful as I did then. "Thank you, Odd," I said in a whisper. I didn't expect him to hear me over the music, but he did.

"For what?"

"For being there, for helping me, for showing me what life is all about... for giving me the best time of my life." He didn't answer for a few moments, but eventually said:

"It's what friends do, Aelita."

_Friends._ Are we really? are we friends, or are we something more?

We danced for a few moments longer before the music changed back to some heavier music. We stood there holding hands, and Odd looked at me for a few seconds before saying: "Do you want to go outside for a bit? It's getting kind of warm in here."

I nodded. He was right about the fact that it was getting warm, so I wouldn't mind going outside. Also, it would be nice to be more alone, too. And so we left the gym, still holding hands. We sat down at a bench near the wall of the school building. It was dark out, and you could almost see the stars. If it hadn't been for the lights of the city then this would have been the perfect location for stargazing. I gazed over at Odd from the corner of my eye. Should I tell him how I feel? Ask him what's going on between us? Yes, definitely. I really didn't want to end up like Ulrich and Yumi; that's just painful to watch, and I believe it's painful for them, too.

I took a deep breath. "Odd..."

"Aelita..."

We looked at each other for a bit before my lips tugged into a small smile. "You go first."

He hesitated for a bit longer before starting to stammer out insecurely, "Aelita, I..." he sighed and started rubbing his temples. "I don't know."

I brought one of my hands, which I had kept folded in my lap, up to rest on his shoulder in an attempt to act comforting. His eyes flickered over to me at the contact, and then he sighed again. "I'm the worst; I shouldn't be doing any of this..." he began. I looked at him with curiosity, not really understanding what he was saying.

"Odd...?"

"The reason why I've dated so many girls is because I want to find the right one." He scoffed, "I know it's stupid, seeing as I'm only fourteen but I want to find the person who's right for me." He paused for a minute. "Ever since I first met you I knew you were different. I've always had this soft spot for you and I found you interesting; but there was something going on between you and Jeremie, anyone could see that. I know it might not seem like it, but I do have certain rules when it comes to girls and my number one rule is not to go after those who are already taken, so I backed off." He paused again and I knew now where this was going. "It wasn't that hard, really. I continued to date girls as I had always done, but they were all boring; more so than usual, and when you were finally materialized you just became that much more real.

"When you ran away to the Hermitage, I just wanted to find out if you were okay and make sure you didn't do anything stupid. At least that's what I told myself but I suppose that my reasons for doing it was all selfish and it only made my feelings grow even more. And then I made you skip school so you could relax for a while, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't do that, too, out of selfish reasons." He rubbed his face in frustration, "and now I took advantage of your problems with Jeremie and asked you out as my date."

"Everything of which I approved," I said quietly. I didn't just say that to comfort him in his apparent self-loathing; after all, why would I agree to everything he'd done -and enjoy it- if I _didn't_ approve? He looked up at me and my heart started beating hard in my chest.

"I like you, Aelita. I really like you and I think I always have. I just can't get you out of my head anymore, and quite frankly... I don't want to either." He brought his hand up and lightly cupped my cheek. Lost in those deep blue eyes of his I slowly began to move my face closer to his, and he did the same. But our attention was caught by a sound of surprise emitted a little ways from us and when I turned around I felt my heart literally sink to the bottom of my belly.

_Jeremie!_

Jeremie stood a few meters away from us, actually dressed up for prom and mouth agape. His confused look soon turned to hurt and anger and his clenched fists began trembling slightly. Odd got up and walked over to Jeremie, but I was still seated on the bench, completely frozen.

"Jeremie, I..."

"How could you, Odd?" whispered Jeremie with a voice quavering with pent-in anger. Odd flinched visibly and looked down at the ground.

"I..."

"I thought we were friends."

Odd looked up from the ground. "We are."

"Friends doesn't do _this_, Odd!" Jeremie shouted, "you knew what was going on between me and Aelita, you knew! But you just had to go after her, too, didn't you? You just had to conquer her as you've done everybody else!"

"No, I..."

"And in a few days' time, you're just going to throw her away like all those other girls!"

"NO!" shouted Odd, "I love her."

My heart literally skipped a beat. Why did everything have to become so complicated? I wanted nothing more than to go out there and stop this entire thing, but quite honestly, I was afraid to do it. Besides, what was I supposed to do?

"Really?" said Jeremie venomously, "why do I find that so hard to believe?"

"Come on, Jeremie, do you not think this is hard for me, too?" shouted Odd, "falling in love with the love interest of one of my best friends isn't fun, Jeremie, but I can't do anything about who I fall in love with, neither can you and neither can Aelita."

Suddenly Jeremie had grabbed Odd by his collar and pushed him up against the wall. "Jeremie," I gasped as he raised up his clenched fist with gritted teeth. Odd had his eyes closed, waiting for the blow to come.

But it never did.

Odd relaxed a bit in Jeremie's grasp and opened his eyes again. "Damn it," whispered Jeremie as he slowly lowered his fist, "I just can't..." His hold on Odd loosened and I could see small streaks of tears rolling down Jeremie's cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Jeremie," whispered Odd sadly. Jeremie didn't answer. He simply turned around and started walking back towards the dormitories. Looking at his retreating back, I realized that I had to do something, _anything_. Simply following my instincts, I ran after him.

"Jeremie!" I shouted. He stopped but didn't turn around to face me as I got up close to him. Neither of us said anything for too long a time, but eventually I spoke up. "I'm sorry, Jeremie," I said truthfully, "I didn't want for you to find out like this. I wanted to tell you myself." Jeremie didn't answer immediately.

"I love you, Aelita. I loved you ever since I first met you," he said, still not turning around.

"I know," I said, "and I love you, too. Just not like that." I paused for a minute. "I didn't want to hurt you, but I..."

"You like Odd," he finished for me. He didn't say it in a harsh manner, it was more like he was stating a simple fact.

"Yes." He finally turned around to face me and we stared at each other for a while.

"You were the only girl besides Yumi that ever bothered to talk back to me. You were like me in so many ways, and you were... you were so beautiful." I looked down at the ground with a blush. I just couldn't look at him without feeling bad. "I love you, Aelita," he repeated, "...but if you're happy, then I'm happy." I looked up on him again upon hearing those words. Was he really accepting this? "But if he makes you cry, I'll kill him."

With that he turned and began walking again. I wanted to go after him, hug him, do something more, but that would just be pouring salt into his wounds so I decided it was best not to do anything. We would get past this. We would all make up once things had settled down and we'd become friends again. Right?

Deciding not to think about it any longer I turned around and began to slowly make my way back towards Odd, my shoes shuffling slightly as I walked. Luckily no one had heard the shouting over the loud music inside, so we were still alone outside. Odd was still leaning up against the wall, so I took my spot next to him, I too, leaning back.

"Did I just ruin our friendship with Jeremie?" muttered Odd.

"No," I said, "he approves of us."

"Doesn't make me feel less like an asshole..."

Quiet overtook us, but having a burning question on my mind I decided to break it. "Did you mean it? What you said about me, did you really mean it?"

"Yes... I do love you, Aelita," he said and took hold of my hand. We were standing face to face now, and I smiled at him.

"Odd?"

"Hm?" I didn't let him say anything else, and so I leaned over and pressed my lips to his in a gentle but sweet kiss. I had caught him off-guard, but he quickly relaxed and closed his eyes and I followed suit. Neither of us made any move to deepen the kiss and so we stood there in a kiss where our lips were just barely touching each other.

A couple seconds later I broke off from my first kiss. My face was still just an inch away from his, though, and staring into his now open eyes I smiled shyly at him. "How was it?" I asked a bit giddy from my first kiss.

"My lips might never walk again," he said lightly. I giggled at the praise and both of us had now completely forgotten about our previous troubles. I intertwined both my arms around his neck and captured his lips in another kiss. Odd brought his arms around my waist and deepened it. I sighed into the kiss and pressed my body a little closer to his. It was the most amazing feeling: our bodies pressed up together and lips locked in a deep but sweet kiss. And so I knew that I loved him, too.

Odd broke the kiss, much to my chagrin, but maybe just as well because we needed to properly breathe. Odd leant his forehead onto mine and smiled happily and we were both breathing unevenly.

"I need to ask you something."

"What?" I breathed.

"Be my girlfriend?"

My body tensed for a second and Odd must have noticed my hesitation because he looked at me with a slightly uncertain but hopeful gleam in his eyes. I got my act together and quickly hugged him.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

Odd laughed and lifted me up, making me yelp in surprise, and twirled me around once before putting me down and planting another chaste kiss on my lips.

"I love you," I whispered after breaking away from the kiss.

"Want to head back inside?" he asked as he laid his cheek on top of my head. After considering it for a second I smiled slyly and said,

"No, not really"

"Good," he smirked. "Me neither."

When he pulled me in for another kiss I knew that things would finally begin to go upward for me in life.

* * *

"Wake up, Odd," I said whilst poking him through the bed sheets. The only response I got was something between a half snore and a grunt.

"Don't bother," Ulrich said. "You'll never get him out of bed no matter what you do."

"Odd~," I said in a singsong voice. "If you don't get up there won't be any breakfast left." This time he let out a pained moan before squinting his eyes open.

"Oh, that's just cruel, 'Lita. Do you know what time it is? it's a quarter to dead!" He sat up either way and began rubbing his eyes groggily. "I hate you," he muttered tiredly.

"No you don't," I countered. He considered that for a moment.

"No, I don't." He then turned to Ulrich. "That means I hate you, Ulrich."

"Shut up, Odd."

"Yeah, I'll shut up now," he agreed as he rolled out of bed and began gathering clothes to wear that day. I left the room telling the boys that I'd meet them down in the cafeteria at our usual table.

Odd and I had been going out for nearly three months now and the summer holidays were fast approaching. He had surprised me a week ago with the fact that I had been invited to join him and his family for the entire duration of our holidays. Apparently they were all excited to finally meet Odd's first long standing girlfriend and I, too was really looking forward to it. I wasn't nervous about XANA attacking while we were gone either, mainly due to the fact that we'd made so much progress on Lyoko over the course of these past few months. Much of this was achieved with the help of the newest addition to our little group: Laura Gauthier.

Laura had now taken over my old nickname as Miss Einstein, not only because she's incredibly smart but also because she and Jeremie's grown really close lately. Before Laura enrolled at Kadic the relationship between me, Odd and Jeremie was a bit tense, though he softened up a little bit at a time. But when Laura joined our group it was like everything was forgotten and forgiven. And I'm truly happy for him.

When I walked up to fetch some breakfast for myself upon entering the cafeteria I briefly remembered the first time I was here. I had suffered a panic attack and I would have escaped back to Lyoko if Odd hadn't found me and told me how the world really was. I sighed amusedly and walked over to our usual table where Jeremie and Laura and actually Yumi already was. I sat down with a "good morning" and began eating my food. Shortly after we could hear Ulrich and Odd walk in.

"You're crazy, Odd," Ulrich said, exasperated over something Odd must have done after I left.

"But if I don't go crazy once in a while, I'll go crazy," Odd replied, still sounding a bit groggy. He seemed to wake up a bit, though, when he saw me wave at him and he delivered a toothy grin.

He and Ulrich sat down with us after fetching their breakfast and soon the table broke put into a conversation on what we would do for the holidays. I felt Odd grab my hand under the table and give it a squeeze. This is how life was supposed to be. This is how I want it to remain forever: _happy_. I smiled.

_Yes,_ I thought to myself as I squeezed Odd's hand back. _I think I'm going to enjoy it here_.

* * *

**And thus it comes to an end. Finally, I might add. I want to write more stories in this fandom, but only if I get an idea that's actually usable. I hope you enjoyed reading this three-part story as much as I enjoyed writing it (and seeing as I don't get to write much these days it was very enjoyable^^).**

**By the way, the reason Odd knew about Hell being in Norway is because of a little theory that I have. I think that he is actually half Italian and half Norwegian. Della Robbia is obviously an Italian name but his first name, Odd, is a strictly Norwegian name with Norse origins (Oddr) and it means arrow head. Considering his Lyoko weapon are arrow heads I don't think this is a coincidence.**

**Anyway, I suck at endings and this one was really annoying to write, so I apologize if the ending was not too good. Constructive criticism is very welcome. **

**I thank you for reading, and I wish you a good day and a good life. **

**-Lord of Tuft**


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